Apple is placing a big bet on China for iPhone XR sales, with the American company earmarking two-thirds of its global supply for Chinese consumers in the first batch of sales, according to a report.

Among the more than 3 million iPhone XR handsets in the first batch of global sales, Apple has allocated over 2 million units for the Chinese market, reported Sina News, citing information from supply chains.

The move shows that Apple has confidence in iPhone XR sales in China, as the cheaper and more colourful model retails at 6,499 yuan ($937), and was forecast to become the most popular iPhone model in the next two quarters, the Sina report said.

Apple is losing its lustre in China, with its new iPhone launches no longer attracting as much attention as they did in the past.

In late September, when the US company officially launched its iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, the cost of any new iPhone models fell below official price tags because scalpers were only willing to pay up to 2,000 yuan more for the iPhone XS Max 512GB model and resell them for even higher prices, while all other new iPhone editions could be purchased below their official price tags as supplies were ample and the phones were viewed as expensive.

Apple’s high-end iPhone XS Max is priced at 12,799 yuan for the 512GB version on its official website, 30 percent higher than the same unlocked edition sold in the US. The lowest-priced iPhone XS 64GB requires 8,699 yuan, about 34 percent higher than the iPhone XR’s 64GB edition.

However, the cheaper iPhone XR is not necessarily set to boom in China, as its presales failed to achieve 1 million units in China, falling behind the launch of some domestic brands’ new phones, Sina reported.

Apple’s official website shows that iPhone XR series were still available on Tuesday evening, but that consumers need wait between one and two weeks to receive their handsets.

We have now seen the announcement of just about every major smartphone for 2018 with the OnePlus 6T being revealed in the next couple of weeks. It is extremely difficult to arrange the top five as the quality of smartphones today is fantastic.